Ogilvy nabs Loews lobbyist

FIRST IN PI — OGILVY NABS LOEWS LOBBYIST: Amy Andryszak is joining Ogilvy Government Relations as a principal. She was previously an-house lobbyist for Loews and before that lobbied for AT&T and Cingular Wireless. She’s also a former chief of staff to former Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah), who’s now the chief executive of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. She’s bringing Loews to the firm as a client and will continue to lobby for the hotel corporation as well as its subsidiaries, Loews Hotels and Resorts and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners. Loews recently parted ways with several other lobbying firms, including Cassidy & Associates, CGCN Group and Prime Policy Group, according to disclosure filings.

MILLER STRATEGIES HIRES WHITE HOUSE STAFFERS: Jeff Miller, a former top adviser to Energy Secretary Rick Perry as he was preparing to run for president, is expanding Miller Strategies, the Washington lobbying firm he started after President Donald Trump took office. Miller has hired three new staffers over the past few months, all of them hired away from the White House. Jonathan Hiler, a former legislative director for Vice President Mike Pence, and Ashley Gunn, a former senior director of cabinet affairs in the White House, have joined the firm as principals. George Caram, a former White House international economic affairs aide, has come aboard as director of legislative affairs.

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— The new hires bring the firm’s headcount to five. In an interview, Miller said he doesn’t plan to grow Miller Strategies — which brought in nearly $1.2 million in the second quarter — into a behemoth. “Our goal is to remain a boutique firm,” Miller said. The firm’s clients include AECOM, Charles Schwab, Southern Company, Dow Chemical,Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, and the private prison firm CoreCivic, according to disclosure reports.

FEDERAL SCIENCE PARTNERS ADDS MARIN: Mark Marin is leaving the Hill to join Federal Science Partners as a partner. He’ll start next month and plans to register as a lobbyist. Marin was previously the Republican chief of staff for the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and before that worked for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He is not to be confused with Marc Maron, the popular podcast host.

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BLOCKCHAIN LOBBYING UPDATE: The Blockchain Association, which describes itself as the “united voice of the blockchain industry,” has registered to lobby for the first time. Kristin McKenzie Smith will lobby on “distributed financial systems and decentralized web applications using blockchain and related distributed ledger technologies,” according to a disclosure filing. Lobbying on blockchain issues has taken off in recent months. Harbor, a blockchain compliance startup, hired the Daly Consulting Group to lobby in March, and the Token Alliance retained Venable in April. Corporate America has started to lobby on blockchain as well, including EY, IBM and Walmart.

MORE TRADE LOBBYING: The Washington Tax & Public Policy Group is starting a new trade division, WTG Global, in the latest sign that President Donald Trump’s trade wars have been good for business on K Street. Brian Diffell, a former aide to Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), will head up the effort. Diffell already lobbies on trade issues for clients including Caterpillar, General Motors and Gap Inc.

ANNALS OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE:The Daily Beast’s Lachlan Markay has uncovered evidence of potential coordination between the campaign of Matt Rosendale, the Republican state auditor who’s challenging Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and the National Rifle Association. “‘I fully expect the NRA is going to come in … in August sometime,” Rosendale said [on a recording obtained by The Daily Beast] in response to a question about independent political spenders in the race. "The Supreme Court confirmations are big. That’s what sent the NRA over the line. Because in ’12, with [Republican Senate nominee Denny Rehberg] they stayed out, they stayed out of Montana. But Chris Cox told me, he’s like, 'We’re going to be in this race.'’” It’s illegal for nonprofits such as the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, which started airing ads in the race this month, to coordinate with campaigns.Full story.

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT BILL SPURS LOBBYING: Congressional efforts to roll back parts of the Endangered Species Act are spurring a lobbying push, The Hill’s Timothy Cama reports.“It’s been more than a dozen years since policymakers have shown such an interest in overhauling the ESA, and industries including agriculture, energy and developers are working hard to get something across the finish line. ‘This is an extremely important time, because the opportunity is there to make changes,’ said Richard Pombo, a lobbyist and former congressman from California who led the last major effort, in 2005, to comprehensively change the ESA.” Full story.

SPOTTED: At Bourbon Steak in Georgetown last night, according to a PI tipster: Former Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) and John Mellencamp having dinner. Yes, that John Mellencamp.

— At a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center gala at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, according to a PI tipster: Mary Wilson of the Supremes; Carl Hulse of the New York Times; Jared Parks, Kasie Brill, Patrick Kilbride and David Hirschmann of the Global Innovation Policy Center; Ben Jenkins of Locust Street Group;Rich Bagger of Celgene; Andrew Kovalcin and Zach Sentementes of Advanced Advocacy; Suhail Khan of Microsoft; Megan Wilson of Bloomberg Government; and Rachel Hicks of the American Beverage Association.

JOBS REPORT:

— Kaya Singleton started today as House Republican lobbyist for the Entertainment Software Association. She previously worked for the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

— The Independent Petroleum Association of America has added Jennifer Pett as public affairs and communications manager. She was previously communications director for Rep. Lamar Smith(R-Texas), who isn’t running for reelection.

— Andrew Collins has joined Uber’s Washington office as regulatory counsel. He was previously general counsel for theGROUP.

About The Author : Theodoric Meyer

Theodoric Meyer covers lobbying for POLITICO and writes the POLITICO Influence newsletter. He previously covered the 2016 campaign for POLITICO and worked as a reporting fellow for ProPublica in New York. He was a lead reporter on ProPublica’s “After the Flood” series on the federal government’s troubled flood insurance program, which won the Deadline Club Award for Local Reporting. He’s a graduate of McGill University and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.

About The Author : Marianne LeVine

Marianne LeVine is a reporter at POLITICO who covers lobbying and co- authors POLITICO Influence. Prior to her stint on the lobbying beat, Marianne covered labor policy for POLITICO Pro, writing about regulations related to overtime pay, retirement advice and occupational health and safety. Her reporting in 2016 about domestic abuse allegations against President Donald Trump's first nominee for labor secretary, Andrew Puzder, was a key part of the debate surrounding his nomination, which he ultimately withdrew. Prior to working at POLITICO, Marianne was an intern in the Los Angeles Times' Washington, D.C. bureau.

She graduated from Stanford undergrad in 2013, with degrees in International Relations and French and completed Stanford's Graduate Program in Journalism in 2014.